BAR PRO BONO AWARDS: November 2021

Fast forward two decades and the Bar Pro Bono Awards are a highlight of Pro Bono Week, bringing together chambers from all over the country and showcasing achievements of all aspects of pro bono across the Bar.

The 2021 winners of seven of the Bar’s Oscars were announced during Pro Bono Week on 3 November 2021 at an awards event attended by short-listed barristers, volunteers and supporters. The winners of two more, Young Pro Bono barrister of the year and the Lifetime Achievement Award, were announced at the Bar and Young Bar Conference on 20 November 2021.

Alex Chalk QC MP, the Solicitor General, Lord Goldsmith, a founder member of the Bar Pro Bono movement, and Sir Robin Knowles, Chair of Advocate and the National Pro Bono Centre, led the tributes to all those who believe that pro bono is part of being a barrister.

Sir Robin Knowles, Chair of Advocate & the National Pro Bono Centre

“These are the best of times in some senses and the worst of times in others. What the profession has done over the course of the pandemic to meet the increased need for pro bono help is nothing short of amazing. It shows the profession in that great light, that it deserves. But these are also the worst of times in that that need for help has increased. I would like to thank the staff at Advocate for their outstanding effort. Advocate’s core purpose is expressed on the website: ‘we exist because committed barristers across England and Wales care about access to justice for everyone’.”

Sarah Abram, Brick Court
Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year

“I think that one of the reasons for which I won the award was for my work as a reviewer of applications. This brings me into contact with the Advocate caseworkers who work tirelessly to support pro bono applicants and clients and I think the award should really be seen as recognition for all the behind-the-scenes contributions to ensuring that a worthy applicant obtains pro bono representation”

Anthony Metzer QC, Goldsmith Chambers
Pro Bono QC of the Year

“I am enormously honoured and privileged to have received this award for the second time and together with the number of finalists nominated in the junior category, believe it reflects Goldsmith Chambers’ strong and continuing commitment to pro bono work. I prioritise this work because I consider it part of my responsibilities as a barrister to advocate for those disadvantaged people who would otherwise have no recourse to justice”

Sarah Blackmore, Spire Barristers
John Collins Pro Bono Excellence Award

“I prioritise pro bono as part of my practice to be able to assist those in society who might otherwise be denied access to justice. There is also the added bonus of being able to take on often very interesting and novel cases that you might not otherwise have been instructed in, thus giving you the ability to progress your career and practice in ways that you may not have expected”

Rhys Davies, Temple Garden Chambers & Ben Keith, 5 St Andrew’s Hill
International Pro Bono Barrister

“Working in international human rights and international criminal cases, we are frequently contacted by individuals, from around the world, who find themselves in terrible situations and who often don’t have access to funding. We think it is vitally important provide pro bono help where we can. Without working on certain cases pro bono, we are acutely conscious that we would end up turning away people in need, when we know that we might be able to help”

1. Advocate team members with Sir Robin Knowles
2. Lord Goldsmith
3. Alex Chalk QC MP, Solicitor General
4. Representatives from 1GC

The John Collins Pro Bono Excellence Award

This award was established in 2021 in memory of John Collins, a bono legend on the North-Eastern circuit, who died last year.

Richard Wright QC, North-Eastern Circuit Leader, said: ‘John’s humility was absolute and genuine, matched only by his desire to help others whenever he could. Every case received the same painstaking attention.’

Chosen from barristers nominated by Advocate’s caseworkers, the winner was Sarah Blackmore, joint head of chambers and a member of the North-Eastern Circuit.

LEDUCATE, the Legal Education Charity, Pro Bono Innovation winner 2021 Adam Kayani, Director

“Winning this award is a wonderful vote of confidence by the inspiring range of people who made up the judging panel that legal education is a recognised priority in England and Wales. It is both humbling and incredibly motivating for our efforts, to provide school students with the ability to not only know their rights but also to know where they come from and how to assert them, has been recognised in this way. We take great heart from the support we have been shown by teachers, supporters and fellow members of the legal professions and we are grateful for the vote of confidence that Advocate’s judging panel have given us as we continue our work.

“I am constantly aware of the great privileges I have been afforded in my life thus far and of the vast array of rights and responsibilities that we have enshrined in the law around us every day. I am keenly aware that not everyone in society is aware of their rights, and have been unfairly treated as a result. I do what I can in my professional practice but have found a fulfilment of purpose at Leducate that exercises a very different set of skills and abilities and affords us all an opportunity to give back to society in a unique and different way to our ordinary day jobs. Doing ‘good’ for the public at large is, to my mind, an overriding objective that many of us take on often quietly, without recognition and is something that is, in my view, vitally important for society to thrive. After all, it is only when good people do nothing that evil will triumph.”